A. Arthur - Passion's Prey

Dorian nodded, pulling a wad of money out of his pocket. He wasn’t rich, but he tended to carry some extra cash just for situations like these—when, as a sign of the times, the badge wasn’t working as well as it should.

He lay three twenties down on the counter with his badge, then pushed his jacket lapel back to expose the nine-millimeter sitting quietly in its holster.

“Let’s try this again. Xavier Markland,” he said, his voice low and hard as steel.

With a lick of his lips a slow smile began to spread across the attendant’s face. He reached for the money but Dorian slapped his palm over it.

“Mr. Markland?”

“Take the second elevator up to the nineteenth floor. There are two elevators all the way to the back of that hallway. Take one of those to the penthouse. He’s the only one on that floor. And if he asks, tell him I wasn’t at the desk when you came in.”

Moving his hand away from the cash, Dorian retrieved his badge, pushing it into his pocket. “Won’t you get in trouble for not being on your post?”

“Probably get written up,” the attendant told him. Then he looked straight at Dorian, a serious expression marring his face. “But Mr. Markland will kill me if he finds out I took money to let you in.”

Dorian nodded, letting the words Mr. Markland will kill me play over and over in his mind as he headed toward the elevator.

“Where the hell is she?” Nick Delgado asked Eli and Ezra Preston the moment he saw them in the dining hall.

They were the twin guards assigned to Nick and Rome. Last night, however, they’d been called away from Havenway to assist at some nightclub in the city named Athena’s. Nick hadn’t grumbled too much because it was two in the morning when he’d received the knock at his bedroom door and the announcement that there’d been a Rogue sighting. On any other night Nick would have happily climbed out of his bed and headed out with the two Lead Guards, but Ary was just entering the sixth week of her pregnancy and since neither of them had ever experienced this miracle before, Nick was inclined to stick as close by her as he could.

It wasn’t until this morning when he’d spoken to Rome that he’d learned the full extent of the story. Rogues had indeed been sighted at Athena’s, where Caprise had apparently been working as a stripper.

That last fact was still hard for Nick to swallow, and his temples throbbed incessantly with the effort. Rome was sitting at the desk in his home office. Both of them lived at Havenway now, their refuge from the city and all the attention that had come to Rome’s estate just about a month ago. The facility was still undergoing construction, but to date was coming along nicely. Nick, however, did not plan to stay here indefinitely. He wanted his own house for Ary and their family. And he definitely did not want to remain in hiding from the world they deserved to live in just as much as the humans. Still, he understood that, for now, the safety of his wife and child came first.

“She’s not here. We checked her room and she didn’t come home at all last night,” Eli replied, slipping his aviator jacket onto broad shoulders covered by the fitted T-shirt he wore.

Eli was the more somber twin. While his green eyes, mocha skin tone, and cleft chin mirrored Ezra’s, he wasn’t as flamboyant and outgoing as his brother. That was most likely the reason he’d been assigned to Rome as soon as he’d been appointed Faction Leader. With Nick’s enigmatic personality and previous popularity with the females, Ezra was the best pick for his guard. Even though, right now, Ezra was keeping a tight lip, probably because he knew Nick was very close to going off totally.

“Where the hell is Seth?” he asked, keeping a tight rein on his temper. Once upon a time this would have been a task for Nick, but since finding Ary again, his temperament had taken a less volatile edge. Today remaining calm was proving difficult. And who could blame him? Caprise was his little sister. Before a month ago she’d been gone for five years and he hadn’t known where she was or what she was doing. Then she just showed up, with secrets in her eyes and a chip on her shoulder as big as a damn boulder. Now she was missing. They couldn’t blame him if he wanted to break something or someone in two to find out where she was.

“Seth checked in already this morning. He says she’s safe,” Ezra told him.

The guard stood across from Nick, about four feet away. He wore black slacks and a white silk shirt. His jacket was probably in the car. Since Ezra accompanied Nick everywhere, he tended to dress for the occasion. Today being a workday, he would be in a suit going to the office. The diamond studs in both his ears sparkled even as his gaze toward Nick was serious.

“Did he say where she was? Where they are?” Rome asked sitting back in his chair.

Rome had been the Faction Leader for almost ten years now. He’d been Nick’s best friend for even longer. Rome knew Nick’s moods just as Nick knew his. Right now the FL was concerned for Caprise and reserving judgment on this current situation.

For about two seconds Ezra looked uncomfortable. The guard exchanged a look with his twin, and they both finally shrugged.

“If you know something, you’re bound by your duty as Lead Guards to tell me now,” Rome said tightly. “Not to mention the fact that you’re as close to us as brothers. Nick deserves an explanation if you have one.”

Ezra nodded. “You’re right, boss. Look, Seth called last night or early this morning, and said that X had taken her to his place. When he checked in this morning he said they were still there, had been all night.”

The room was quiet and still except for the buzz of irritation that filled its space.

“Okay, she’s with X so she’s safe,” Nick said, even though something about that statement seemed a bit off to him. “So get X on the phone and find out when they’re heading to Havenway.”

Ezra nodded. “Right.”

When the two guards left the room Nick stood for a few moments at the slim window looking out to the Great Falls National Park. That was where Havenway was located, deep within the park, hidden by dense trees and a small creek that almost gave the impression of their home in the Gungi. Well, not almost, but probably as close as they were going to get. The Virginia location was about an hour and a half away from their law firm in DC.

“What are you thinking?” Rome asked.

“Something’s not right,” Nick replied immediately. “Why didn’t he bring her back here? Why keep her in the city? And what the hell is she doing stripping?” He figured he’d be the one to approach the subject since he knew Rome was probably thinking it.

When he turned to look at his friend he was rewarded with a look of relief on Rome’s face.

“I wondered that myself. Do you know where she’s been for the last five years?”

Nick rolled his neck, listened as muscles cracked with the effort, and tried to let his shoulders relax. “She didn’t say. I told X to look into it but he hasn’t gotten back to me with a report. I know she’s always loved to dance and was even enrolled in dance school before she left. This just doesn’t sound like Caprise.”

Rome nodded. “She seems different now. I’ve noticed it in the weeks she’s been here.”

“Ary’s been talking to her. She thinks Caprise is starting to adjust. But I don’t know,” Nick admitted.

“She’s still not happy about being a shifter, that we all know for sure.”

Nick shook his head. “She’s never been happy about that. I thought at least she’d come to terms with it by now. But she’s still in denial.”

“Which isn’t good for us if there are Rogues roaming the streets, out for shifter or human blood,” Rome stated.